The Boson NetSim Network Simulator is an application that simulates Cisco Systems' networking hardware and software and is designed to aid the user in learning the Cisco IOS command structure. Read more...

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ExSim-Max practice exams are the best practice exams available in the industry, if we may say so ourselves. ExSim-Max is designed to simulate the complete exam experience, including topics covered, question types, question difficulty and time allowed, so you know what to expect. Read more...

Online Practice Labs provide access to real computer equipment networked together and conveniently accessible over the internet. Practice Labs include multiple pieces of equipment that you can configure and instructions that will guide you as you learn the concepts and technologies. Read more...

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The Boson Marketplace is your online shopping destination for practice exams and IT training products. In addition to Boson's own products, you can find practice exams written by independent authors which are published by Boson Exam Publishing and delivered by the Boson Exam Environment software engine. More...

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

I login and I am unable to access my courses, it says error 4503 no account exists.

Your account has not been created yet, please contact your course provider and make sure that your account has been created. If so and you are still receiving this message please tell us the name of your course provider and details of your account we shall contact them.

I don’t have the correct courses, or I don’t have any courses.

Please log a call with us and we will investigate what is wrong with your account.

I can’t connect to the lab devices, I receive Terminal Server error: Received an error connecting to: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

Please try pressing the connect button, the device might not have powered up fully resulting in this error, if you still receive this error ensure you are running the latest version of Java which can be downloaded at www.java.com. Alternatively you can try connecting using the HTML5 client.

I am receiving a message saying there are no labs available or they are under maintenance.

Occasionally all the labs of a particular course may be busy or being upgraded. You can enter your email address to be alerted when a lab is free, or you can come back at a later time and try again.

When I was in a lab, I received a message that said "This lab is being shut down due to no activity", why?

If you are detected as inactive then you will be prompted to see if you still want to use the lab, you will have 5 minutes to respond to continue using the lab, if we do not get a response then you shall be logged out of the lab. If you are using the lab and will need to be absent from your computer, please use the ‘Out to lunch’ function, this will give you an hour and a half until you will be logged out of the lab.

What browsers are supported?

We support the following browsers:

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 - 10

Mozilla Firefox

Apple Safari

Opera

Google Chrome

Due to the technical differences between these browsers some do have known issues, for example Chrome has some problems with SSL connections generating a No data received, server sent no data error which requires a work-around to access the labs. Please see our technical documentation for more information.

I can’t carry out one of the tasks in the lab

Please ensure you read each step very carefully when carrying out tasks; remember the devices are real so changes you make may impact another task later so by not completing one task you may not be able to complete the next as there is a dependency. You should also refer back to your course content to ensure you understand that task that you are carrying out. If you feel there is an error in the content please let us know and we will rectify the issue if something is not correct.

Can I save my work?

Currently you are unable to save your work as each lab is designed to be autonomous from another therefore saving is normally unnecessary.

I am unable to type using the HTML5 client?

We sometimes see this issue if you have connected to the lab using the new HTML5 client. To overcome this you can either:

Use the java client and launch the devices in page.

Use HTML 5 client and go to settings and chance the "launch MS device in separate window" to ON.

Videos to Help You Get Started

Proxy Connection

For the practice labs to operate correctly, your browser must be able to make a securedHTTPSconnection to the Practice Labs web service. When a connection to any lab device is initiated, the request istunnelledwithin this secure session, enabling user interaction with lab devices. This type of connection worksseamlessly inmost environments, without the need to make any changes to your computer's configuration. However, insomeconfigurations, this process may fail; for example, this might happen when a Proxy Server is in use or if there isnodirect outbound connectivity to the Internet.

If a Proxy Server is present, some configuration changes mayberequired to ensure successful connectivity. This could include installing an advanced proxy client (example:MicrosoftISA Firewall Client) or creating a firewall rule to allow secure HTTPS connectivity to the Practice Labsservice.